Writer-director Eashvar Karthic, whose upcoming film Zebra hits theatres this Friday, worked at 32 companies for short spans before he thought of joining the film industry. The last of these jobs was at a bank, Eashvar informs, which incidentally proved to be a crucial factor when he decided to write a script for Zebra.
He adds, "In the banking sector, there are many mistakes that are often made, which lead to big errors—not necessarily crimes though—but they never come in limelight. I wanted to do that. I also spoke to a friend of mine for further understanding. If I have to work and research a concept, I need to first commit myself hundred percent to the idea.”
When further asked about the origin point of Zebra as a concept, the director describes an image. “A corporate guy wearing a tie and with folded sleeves—what if he goes for a fight? I thought of building a character on this ground.” However, while working on the idea, the writer-director soon realised that it wasn’t exciting enough for a full-length feature film and hence decided to incorporate other worlds in this universe. "That's where the world of money laundering came in. There are many ways in which money laundering takes place around us, so Daali Dhananjay’s world comes there,” he states.
The director candidly talks about his earlier stints in the film industry before deciding to turn to writing and direction. “After quitting my job, I didn’t know where to go. But I had interest in cinema, so I joined the junior artist association.” Eashvar further recalls his junior artist days in a light-hearted manner. “However, you wouldn’t get calls every day. And even if you did, I was often standing in the last row. Nobody would believe if I were to play a rowdy or a side henchman,” he adds with a chuckle.
It was later that, while helping his friends during their short filmmaking stints, he gradually learnt the craft of scriptwriting. Eashvar had other writing plans on his mind as well—he wanted to write a book on human psychology, he adds—before he decided to focus on screenplay writing, gradually moving in that direction. “I had a lot of free time then, you see,” he laughs.
Produced by OldTown Pictures and Padmaja Films, Zebra will release in multiple language versions simultaneously. The film’s primary cast, too, boasts of prominent names from across the South Indian industries, like Sathyaraj, Daali Dhananjaya, Satyadev, Satya, and Priya Bhavani Shankar. Talking about these diverse casting choices, Eashvar states, “Satyadev and I met in Hyderabad, and he agreed to do the film within a one-hour script narration.
However, to attain a certain production value for my film, I needed a certain budget. We wanted to expand into the Kannada market, so we brought Daali Dhananjaya on board. My producers gave me the option of casting Sathyaraj, and he agreed. Similarly, Priya Bhavani helped incidentally spread the Tamil market. These casting choices from various industries gave that much-needed market support.”